Charles T Livengood

Albert Ernest “Ernie” Wisdom 1966-67

- September 30, 2007

He was proud of his service to his country.
He had made his photo album available to the public by scanning the photos from his time in the Navy and pictures of his family. These photos will be available soon in memory of Ernie.
He was never married. He devoted his life serving others, for example, volunteering his time in helping Boy Scouts achieve practical skills in preparing them for life.
His obituary article reads:

Albert Ernest “Ernie” Wisdom passed away September 30th, 2007 at the age of 61 in Downey, California. He recently was preceded in death by his parents, Albert M. Wisdom and Florence (Price) Wisdom of Downey.

His mother, Florence Price was a 1933 graduate from Montebello High School.
Ernie grew up in the city of Montebello, where he was actively involved at the First Baptist Church and with the Boy Scouts of America. Active in drama and debate, he graduated in 1964 from Montebello High School and attended East Los Angeles College. Ernie then joined the U.S. Navy and served as chief petty officer aboard the USS Higbee and USS Rowan for two tours supporting the ground troops in Southeast Asia.

After his service to his country, Ernie helped public school teachers set up tax sheltered annuity accounts for their future retirement income, owned and operated a video rental shop, as well as a pizza parlor in Downey. He loved volunteering his time and energy helping kids in the Boy Scouts of America learn long term practical skills and believed in the importance of leadership training that the scouting program advanced. As a result there were a number of Eagle scouts that benefited from his support and encouragement.

Secondly he loved researching available grants for teachers to acquire extra money and equipment to benefit kids in the classroom. He was also well known in Downey for his involvement in several civic organizations.

He is survived by his sister Carolyn of Florida; nieces and nephews in the San Gabriel Valley. His memorial service will be on Friday October 12, 2007 at 3:00 p.m. at the Sky Rose Chapel at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier.
He will be missed by his family and friends. In lieu of flowers, please make contributions to the Boy Scouts of America.

Footnote: His father served in the U.S. Navy during WWII on the Destroyer Escort USS Savage in the Atlantic Ocean.
In January 1944, the SAVAGE was assigned as one of six ships composing Escort Division 23 of Task Force 63. This task force was engaged in escorting convoys of 60 to 80 merchant ships from United States ports to the Mediterranean Theatre.

During the operations, lasting approximately seven weeks for each convoy, the SAVAGE and her sister ships safely escorted hundreds of ships loaded with vital war materials safely past the heavy enemy submarine and air concentrations in the Atlantic and Mediterranean.

On 01 April, 1944, Convoy UGS 36, whose escort included the SAVAGE, was attacked by thirty enemy aircraft north of Algiers, Africa. (See USS LST 173 website for a positioning of ships in Convoy UGS 36, and for more information about this attack). So intense was the gunfire of the escorting DE's and Destroyers, that the attack was repelled without a single allied ship lost. Her only casualty during the action was a member of the depth charge crew (James W. Searcy, MoMM3c) who was struck in the ankle by shell fragments. He earned a Purple Heart for his injuries and this action earned the SAVAGE and her crew a WWII battle star.

During the latter half of 1944 and the first six months of 1945, the SAVAGE escorted high-speed troop convoys between New York and the British Isles to support the final assault on Germany.

During eighteen crossings of the Atlantic, (the other enemy being the weather), the SAVAGE and her sister ships safely brought through over 1,000 loaded troop and supply ships without a single loss.